


New Beginnings

by winterwaters



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, spoilers for 2x07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 05:30:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2720507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterwaters/pseuds/winterwaters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bellamy wasn’t sure where this new impulse had come from, to suddenly go after his princess and make sure she was alright. He also wasn’t sure when she’d become <em>his</em> princess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a picture I didn't like for 2x07 and it made me sad and angry, so I had to turn it into this instead.

Bellamy strode through the halls of the Ark, his long strides carrying him quickly past the adults going the opposite way. He thought he’d seen Clarke disappear inside, and when she didn’t return, of course he had to go find her. He wasn’t sure where this new impulse had come from, to suddenly go after his princess and make sure she was alright.

He also wasn’t sure when she’d become _his_ princess. 

But tonight he was still giddy over their victory in Mount Weather from a day ago, and he wanted to share it with someone. With her.

Rounding the corner, he heard her voice and quickened his steps. Right as he was about to enter the room, someone else spoke, and Bellamy stopped dead in his tracks. Finn was with her. Their voices were too low for him to hear anything, but he lingered anyways. He wasn’t sure what kept him from barging right in - he normally didn’t care what he was interrupting. Despite his best judgment, he peeked around the doorway.

Clarke’s hand was on Finn’s shoulder. They stood close together, their faces inches from each other. Bellamy’s stomach dropped and he closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall. The sadness overtook him with unexpected force, seeping through his veins. He turned to leave -

\- and ran right into his sister. 

Octavia looked up at him in surprise, the smile on her face disappearing when she caught his expression. Her eyes drifted to the room behind him, but he brushed past her. She followed him down the hall, pulling on his jacket until he stopped.

“Bell-”

“Not now, O. Please.” He gently removed her hands from his coat and walked out into the cold night.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days, Bellamy busied himself with the compound. Clarke was stuck in medical treating those who’d come down with colds or accidentally hurt themselves, and so he managed to avoid her for the most part. There was no shortage of tasks, not between winter rapidly approaching and the tentative peace they shared with the Grounders. 

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Clarke had said once, quoting something as usual. And as usual, she’d been right.

It was only with the Grounders’ help that they’d rescued the rest of their people from Mount Weather. It had been a difficult fight, but what came next was truly daunting to him. They’d settled into an uneasy truce, with the two camps sending the occasional messenger to discuss territorial boundaries and other terms. It was slow going, but he thought they were making some progress. 

Then there was the matter of the adults.

With the rest of their people back, everyone had fallen into the roles they’d assumed before the first Grounder attack so long ago. Miller was often by his side as he surveyed the area and took weapons inventory. Jasper and Monty coaxed smiles out of Octavia, for which he was always grateful. Per usual, Raven offered a healthy dose of sarcasm while singlehandedly fixing any and all mechanical issues. 

One thing Bellamy couldn’t help was that if there was ever a problem, it inevitably reached him and Clarke before it did the adults. It was just the way they’d all become used to operating. But the adults weren’t used to it, and most had a hard time pretending they didn’t mind. Still, he and Clarke were dealing with things pretty well, he thought.

He sighed. Everything came back to Clarke these days. She wasn’t just his co-leader anymore - she’d become one of his closest friends in this strange new world. Sometimes he felt on the verge of something more, when she offered one of her bright smiles or stopped to tease him gently. Even their arguments had lost their malice. The usually disagreed over things that appeared inconsequential to others. But the truth was he enjoyed arguing with her, watching her eyes flash and her hands flail as she stood toe-to-toe with him - quite literally. Most of the time, he pushed her buttons on purpose. She always rose to the occasion, but he swore he could see a small smile trying to break through now and again.

Maybe that was why the scene the other night had cut him so deeply. He wasn’t selfish enough to think anything could happen between them right now. Between the camp, the oncoming winter, the Grounders, Reapers, and who knew what left at Mount Weather, it was impossible to think about himself. Clarke was the same way - it was why they worked so well together. It was easy to cut past all the bullshit when they had a common goal. 

But he did know he was starting to care for her far more than he’d ever allowed himself to care about anyone else, besides his sister. And part of him had hoped that slowly, he could help her tear down the walls she’d built around herself. But after what he’d seen the other night, that idea was slipping further out of reach, and it hurt him much more than he’d expected.

Distracted by his thoughts, he almost didn’t see the huge cart he was about to walk into. Only Murphy’s yell startled him to a stop. Bellamy waved in apology and continued on, but not before he felt a familiar pair of eyes on him. Octavia was far too perceptive. He’d caught her watching him on numerous occasions, the wheels spinning in her head as she put two and two together. She wouldn’t say anything to anyone else, he knew that. But she’d call him out on it eventually, and he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, he returned from their hunting trip bloodied and bruised. A few of them had gone out that morning to try their luck, and they’d run into Reapers for their trouble. His hands ached from the punches he’d thrown, his knuckles raw and stinging. Judging from Octavia’s glance, his face wasn’t a pretty sight either.

“Bellamy!”

Clarke came flying in from his left, her blonde hair streaming loose behind her. Her hands immediately cupped his face, checking carefully for injuries. All the while, she berated him for not calling for help. He was too caught up by the worry in her blue eyes to register her words. “You know you have that horn for a reason.” She tugged sharply on the lapels of his jacket to make her point, and he couldn’t help his grin.

“Don’t worry, princess. I’ll live. You might want to check on the other two, though.”

“Maya and Taylor can take care of them.” She went to take his hand and sighed as she saw the angry, red skin stretched over his hands. 

“Bellamy,” she breathed.

“You should see the other guy,” he joked, but her frown remained firmly in place as she lead him inside her tent. Her hands were gentle she ran a wet cloth over his face, but she still radiated concern.

Bellamy did his best not to stare, but with her so close all his senses were starting to go a bit haywire. She smelled of pine needles and rain, and he wondered absently when she’d gotten caught in the last downpour. He didn’t realized she’d asked him a question until she waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked and tried to focus, his smile sheepish.

She shook her head, but it was more in amusement than anything else. “I said, these cuts look pretty fresh. Did you get them recently?” She held up his hand expectantly, and he realized she’d seen the older cuts from another unexpected skirmish the other day.

“Uh…” He looked away and she had her answer. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There was nothing to tell. We went out to forage and got ambushed by a couple of idiots. Took care of them.”

“And who took care of these?”

He shrugged. “Everyone was pretty busy, so I just took some cloth and did what I could.”

“Bellamy.” Just one word, full of exasperation and, he was surprised to find, a little hurt. “You know better than that. Besides, I’m never too busy for you, okay?”

Clarke squeezed his fingers insistently, waiting until he met her gaze. She offered a soft smile before finishing the wraps, applying a cold poultice before she bound them tight. Her hands surrounded his a moment longer. “These need to be changed twice a day from now on,” she told him firmly. “I don’t care where you are or what you’re doing. Twice a day. You come find me, or I will drag you to medical myself.”

A corner of his mouth twitched and he nodded. Before he could move, she surprised him by leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her nose brushed against his neck, sending a current through him. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered. Bellamy was frozen in surprise for a few seconds before he returned the hug, his grip just as tight.

When she pulled back, he was pleasantly surprised to find a light flush on her cheeks. He didn’t comment on it, simply tucking the image away in his head. There was no way he’d forget that.

~~~~~~~~~~

He was in the cellar when Clarke found him a few days later. He’d been taking stock of the food they had left when he heard her footsteps bounding down the hall. "There you are,” came her delighted voice.

Bellamy turned to see her practically bouncing on her toes. Intrigued by her sudden enthusiasm, he stood and made his way to her. “You look happy.”

“You’re not going hunting later,” she said, and he frowned. 

“What? I have to.”

“Send Miller instead. Or Murphy. Or anyone. I don’t care.”

“Why?”

She beamed. “You’re coming with me instead.”

“Is that so?” He arched an eyebrow. “And just where are you taking me, princess?”

“Only one way to find out.” She grinned and backed away. “Mid-day, at the gate. Don’t you dare stand me up, Blake.”

With that, she was gone, leaving Bellamy standing in the same spot for the next ten minutes as his brain tried to process what had just happened. Her excited face remained in his thoughts all day, and he found himself greatly looking forward to whatever it was she had planned.

At mid-day, he found her waiting for him at the front gate, grin firmly in place and a bag over her shoulder. She nearly dragged him out and he chuckled, overtaken by her childlike glee. As the gate closed behind them, he caught his sister’s knowing smirk and rolled his eyes when she waved. She was never going to let him live this down.

He caught up to Clarke, who was practically racing through the trees. “What’s the rush, princess?”

“I want to make sure we have enough time.”

“For what?”

Clarke only smiled mysteriously and kept walking. The sun shone high overhead as they passed through the forest. Its light provided plenty of warmth against the new chill that had begun to permeate the air lately. With Clarke beside him and the day just beginning, Bellamy found himself quite at peace.

When she finally stopped, he almost didn’t notice. But her hand grasped his arm and she smiled widely. “Ta-da.”

He looked up, finding what appeared to be a giant wall in front of him, covered in leaves and vines. When he raised his eyebrows in question, she rolled her eyes. “It’s an old building - not quite a skyscraper, but still pretty big, I think.”

“And we’re here because…”

“We’re going to climb it.” Her eyes were shining as she pointed to the small grooves under all the dirt and leaves, and Bellamy found himself grinning with her.

“How did you even find this?”

“Well, I was out looking for some herbs to stock up on, and Alex had mentioned seeing some on his last patrol, but it was nighttime so he couldn’t be sure,” she chattered on excitedly, and Bellamy couldn’t help his laugh. She was unbearably cute when she began talking about _plants_ of all things.

“Anyways, I ventured a bit further than usual and saw this from the distance. I wanted to know more.”

He gave small bow. “After you, princess.” 

Clarke rolled her eyes but practically skipped ahead. Placing her foot in a groove and grasping another as a handhold, she pulled herself up carefully. One leg after the other, she began making her way up. Bellamy followed suit, trying not to think of her pert behind swinging just above him.

About halfway up, his arms began to burn. “You better not be taking me up there just to push me off,” he called.

“If you keep whining, I just might,” she answered, and he chuckled.

Clarke made it up first, and he didn’t miss her gasp. “What is it?” 

“Bellamy, you have to see this.” She turned and leaned down, grasping his arm as soon as he was close and pulling him up with her. He got to his feet -

\- and lost what remaining breath he had left.

The sun sparkled over the valley, its rays spreading out to brighten nearly every corner. Perfect ribbons of blue shimmered in small trails before eventually merging into a large river that rounded a bend out of sight. Between the grass and the trees, there were so many shades of green that he lost count. Half the florest floor was covered in a canopy of red and gold leaves. Even the roof they now stood on had become its own small garden of sorts, covered in greens and browns and the occasional plant.

“Wow,” he breathed.

Together, they walked to the edge of the roof and sat down. His legs dangled over the edge while Clarke curled her legs under her. She was again close enough that the scent of rain filled his nose. He wondered if he’d be able to taste it on her skin. He couldn’t help but stare at her, the wonder and awe transforming her face. She was beautiful.

Without warning, she turned and caught his gaze, and Bellamy found himself unable to look away. He smiled, and she placed her hand atop his before turning back to the view in front of them. A breeze floated around them, rushing through the trees and sending leaves scattering. Bellamy caught one in his hand, feeling the rough texture of it. It was a bright golden, streaked with shades of brown and orange. He’d only ever heard of leaves changing color, but seeing it made everything that much more real.

He handed it to Clarke, knowing she’d understand. Her fingers traced the shape almost reverently.

“My dad would have loved this,” she breathed. There was a familiar longing on her face. “Feeling the grass again, seeing the autumn leaves… and snow. I bet he would love the snow.” She wrinkled her nose, finally looking at him. “I always thought it would be such a nuisance.”

He grinned at that. It was such a Clarke thing to say. “I’ve always wanted to see a snowfall,” he admitted. 

“Really?” She leaned closer, curious, and he found himself explaining.

“Yeah. It always sounded like so much fun in all the stories. Snowball fights, building a snowman… can you imagine, enough snow to cover all over this?” He waved an arm around them.

He saw her face scrunch up as she tried to imagine it - the trees and ground covered in white, snowflakes falling from the sky. He had the sudden image of white flakes melting into her hair, her hands outstretched as she opened her mouth to catch snowflakes on her pink tongue. He blinked, realizing he’d inadvertently gotten close to her lips. He pulled back, feeling heat rise in his neck.

Clarke was lost in her own thoughts. “I can’t believe we’ll actually get to see it,” she murmured.

“Me either.” After a moment, he asked, “What about you, princess? What else do you want to see?”

Clarke paused, considering. He wondered for a moment if she even knew the answer, but seconds later it popped out of her immediately, and he knew it was true. “The ocean,” she sighed. “I want to see the water stretching for miles without any land in sight. I want to go on a boat. Smell the salty sea air.” She propped her chin on her hand and looked at him. “Does that sound silly?”

Bellamy was smiling. “No sillier than wanting to build a snowman.”

She grinned back happily, and they basked in the comfortable silence for some time. Bellamy’s thoughts wandered again, and he didn’t realize he was frowning until a nudge from Clarke brought him out of it.

“What is it?”

He looked down, embarrassed at being caught, but he knew she wouldn’t accept anything but the truth. So he asked, “Why me, Clarke?”

“What?” She looked taken aback.

“Why did you bring me here? Anyone would have come with you. Your mother, Raven, Finn…” he trailed off at the bad taste in his mouth. 

But Clarke looked thoughtful. Carefully, she said, “I guess I just knew you would appreciate it. And I thought maybe you could use it the most.” She smiled shyly, and Bellamy found himself completely speechless. Her cheeks pink, she looked back at the valley. “Besides, Finn and I… that’s done,” she said, and his heart nearly stopped. 

Then it did a backflip and ran a marathon all in under 30 seconds. “Sorry?” He finally said.

Clarke played with the leaf in her hands as she talked. “We’re done. He’ll always be my friend, but that’s it.” When he didn’t respond, she finally looked his way. “Does that surprise you?”

She was teasing, but also curious. He tried to answer honestly. “A little bit. I guess I thought you were working it out. That’s what it looked like the other day, anyways.”

Bellamy stopped abruptly as the words left his mouth. Clarke’s brow furrowed, and he seriously contemplated jumping off the roof for a moment.

“The other day?” She asked quietly.

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, it just looked like you guys were making up, that’s all. But I just saw you in passing, so what do I know, right?”

A smile crossed her face, and he thought there might be a triumphant glint in her eye, but she didn’t push him further. Instead, she said, “We’re different people now than we were on our first days here. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s still a fact. And I think maybe I can forgive him, in time. But I can’t forget so easily, you know?”

He nodded, and she went on. “I’m not the same anymore. I know that. But I’m kind of excited to see who I could be, if I could start fresh. Does that make any sense?”

“ _Tabula rasa,_ ” he murmured, and she brightened. 

“Blank slate. Exactly.”

Bellamy wondered if she could hear the manic way his heart was thudding in his chest. 

“Oh!” She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a flask. “A gift from Jasper.” She wiggled her eyebrows and held it out to him. Bellamy uncapped it and took a whiff before leaning back. 

“Moonshine?”

Clarke had another flask in her hand. “Moonshine,” she grinned.

He laughed. “You never cease to surprise me, princess.”

“I hope that’s a good thing.”

“It’s a good thing,” he assured her, and was rewarded by another grin. Something caught his eye he inched back, reaching around her to pull the small stem from the ground. He held it up for her to see. “What’s this one called?”

“ _Bellis perennis_ ,” she answered promptly. “A daisy.”

He twirled it between his fingers, watching her. Impulsively, he brushed her hair back and tucked the daisy behind her ear. Clarke blinked, her lips parting softly. Then she flushed brilliantly, the sun illuminating her scarlet face. Bellamy grinned and held out his flask.

“To a fresh start, princess.”

She nodded, still blushing, and clinked her flask against his. “ _Tabula rasa._ ”


End file.
